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Legislators approve dozens of bills as 2012 ends

By Bob Katzen

Updated:
12/31/2012 08:13:57 AM EST

THE HOUSE AND SENATE: There were no roll calls in the House or Senate last week. Both branches were busy as the 2012 session neared its end.

The House and Senate, with only a handful of legislators in attendance, approved dozens of bills. Many were local measures affecting only one city or town, but several were important pieces of legislation that if signed into law will have an effect statewide.

REDUCE FREE 411 CALLS (H 4228): The House approved and sent to the Senate a bill reducing from 10 per month to five per month the number of free directory-assistance calls that phone companies must provide to each business and residential customer on their landline phones. The measure leaves intact the current law providing unlimited 411 calls for the disabled, seniors older than 65 and state and local governments.

SABBATICALS (H 4295): The House and Senate approved and sent to Gov. Deval Patrick a bill reducing from seven years to six years the period of time a faculty member must work at a state university before being eligible for a sabbatical. Supporters said this would make faculty sabbatical qualifications at state universities consistent with those used by private colleges.

NEW SYMBOL AND FEWER NUMBERS AND LETTERS ON LICENSE PLATES (H 4369): The House and Senate have approved slightly different versions of legislation that would require all Massachusetts license plates to feature a symbol, like a star, diamond or heart, along with numbers and letters.

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This system would replace the current system which has six random letters and numbers. Current specialty, low-number or vanity plates would be exempt from the new requirement because they are already easily recognizable.

VIRTUAL SCHOOLS (S 2467): The House and Senate approved and sent to Patrick a bill regulating "virtual schools" in Massachusetts. Virtual schools allow students to "attend" an online-only public school. All teaching and assignments are done online through a variety of communication and study methods including email, web conferencing, Skype, Facebook, texting and telephone. These virtual schools are aimed at creating an alternative education option with an individualized approach for students in unique situations including those who are physical disabled, seriously ill, gifted and talented or bullied. Massachusetts has only one virtual school, the Massachusetts Virtual Academy in Greenfield. It has 450 students and includes kindergarten through eighth grade.

Students in these schools would be required to meet the same performance standards and testing requirements as those in other public schools. Other provisions cap the per-pupil tuition paid by a school district to send a student to a virtual school at $5,000, limits to 10 the number of these schools that may operate at any one time and caps the total number of virtual-school students at 2 percent of the state's public-school population, or approximately 19,000 students.

MAKE ANTIFREEZE TASTE BITTER (S 88): The House and Senate approved and sent to Patrick a proposal expanding the current law requiring that any antifreeze in small retail containers that contains sweet-tasting ethylene glycol also include denatonium benzoate, a substance that makes the antifreeze taste bitter. The bill would expand the requirement to include the large 55-gallon drums that service stations use when servicing a vehicle.

FLU SHOTS (H 3948): The House and Senate approved a bill requiring that in August and September all public schools and early education providers distribute to parents information about the benefits of a flu shot for children 6 to 18. This information would include the causes and symptoms of the disease, how it is spread, how to obtain additional information and the effectiveness and risks of the shots. Only final approval is needed in each branch prior to the measure going to the governor.

STUDENTS AND EPINEPHRINE (H 3959): The House and Senate approved a bill allowing students with life-threatening allergies to possess and self-administer epinephrine on school grounds. The measure would add epinephrine to the current list of medicines allowed to be carried and self-administered by students including prescription inhalers for asthma sufferers, enzyme supplements for students with cystic fibrosis and insulin for diabetics. Only final Senate approval is needed before the bill goes to Patrick.

NATIONAL BACKGROUND CHECK ON TEACHERS (H 4307): The House approved and sent to the Senate a bill that would require national fingerprint-based background checks be part of a background check on all applicants for teaching positions and any other public or private school jobs who have direct contact with children. The measure would also apply to family child care, center-based child care and after-school programs. Currently, the state is only required to conduct a statewide background check that covers crimes committed in Massachusetts. The measure would also require current teachers and other employees to be fingerprinted before the 2016-2017 school year.

INCREASE POWER OF TREE WARDENS (H 1839): The House gave initial approval to a measure expanding the powers of local tree wardens to enforce state and local laws prohibiting cutting or otherwise damaging public trees. A key provision raises the fines that can be imposed for damaging or destroying trees. Another provision establishes new education requirements a potential tree warden is required to fulfill before being appointed.

ALSO UP ON BEACON HILL

"THERE OUGHTA BE A LAW": Friday, Jan. 18 at 5 p.m. is the deadline for legislation to be filed for consideration during the 2013-2014 legislative session. Many late-filed bills are admitted to the Legislature following the deadline but vast majority of proposals are filed by Jan. 18.

Massachusetts is one of a handful of states that give citizens the "right of free petition" -- the power to propose their own legislation. A citizen's proposal must be filed with his or her representative or senator or any other representative or senator. Sometimes a legislator will support the legislation and sponsor it along with the constituent. Other times, a legislator might disagree with the bill but will file it anyway as a courtesy. In those cases, the bill is listed as being filed "by request" -- indicating that he or she is doing so at the request of the constituent and does not necessarily support it. Citizens who are interested in filing legislation should contact their own or any other representative or senator.

HOW LONG WAS LAST WEEK'S SESSION? During the week of Dec. 24-29, the House met for a total of eight hours and 31 minutes while the Senate met for a total of five hours and 52 minutes.

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